LEWISBURG, Pa. – The University of Pennsylvania football team opened the 2026 season with a 20-7 victory against the Bucknell Bison at Christy Matthewson Memorial Stadium.
The game was the first of the
Rick Santos era at Penn.
"I'm really proud of the way we competed today," said head coach
Rick Santos. "I felt like on defense we really set the tone and we were relentless attacking the football."
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Penn (1-0, 0-0 Ivy League) outgained Bucknell (1-3, 0-2 Patriot League) 367-124. The Bison had just six first downs in the game.
Freshman quarterback
Miles Teodecki threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns in his debut while also adding 87 rushing yards and a touchdown.
"This was just a complete team effort," Teodecki said. "It really felt like we were one team, one heartbeat out there. It felt like we could have scored at least another 14-21 points, but we left some points on the field. I'm happy we are bringing home the win and it feels great to start this year off 1-0."
Sophomore
Luke Johnson paced the receiving core with six catches for 75 yards while
Luke McIlhon had the first interception of his career to set up the Quakers into scoring position.
"We got them to third and long and it felt like we needed someone to make a play," McIlhon said. "I just made the read, saw his [the quarterback's] eyes and jumped the route."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams forced one another to go three and out on the first offensive drives of the game, but Penn took the lead on its second drive.
The drive started on the 15-yard line and on first down Teodecki rushed up the middle for a 16-yard gain to get the visitors' wheels turning. West followed up with an eight-yard carry and the Red and Blue earned a first down thanks to a penalty on Bucknell. The Bison held Penn to fourth-and-two, but Teodecki broke off for a 36-yard gain down to the 12-yard line. The Austin, Texas native then converted on third-and-seven with his legs before finding the endzone two plays later for his first collegiate touchdown. Mason Walter converted the extra point to give the Quakers a 7-0 lead with 3:23 to go in the first quarter.
Penn's defense continued its strong start on the next Bucknell drive, forcing back-to-back incompletions and a third Bison punt.
The visitors needed just four plays on the next drive to make it a 14-0 lead. The Bison grinded Penn down to third-and-eight, but Teodecki found Ronan Johansson on an 11-yard throw near the sideline for a Quakers' first down. The very next play Teodecki launched the first touchdown pass of his career with a 37-yard bomb to a wide open
Mason Page.
After 15 minutes in Lewisburg, the Red and Blue maintained a two-score lead.
The Bison were forced to punt for a fourth time on their next drive and Penn began the drive on the hosts' 42-yard line. West ran for five yards on first down and
Connor Johns followed up with a nine-yard reception to move the chains. Rushes from Williams and Teodecki continued to push back the Bison's defense before the contest's momentum completely shifted. Bucknell brought pressure on second-and-two and hit Teodecki as he looked to throw out to the flat. Nate Olson intercepted the pass for Bucknell and took it to the house to halve the hosts' deficit (14-7).
Penn began the next drive on its 35-yard line and secured a first down with a rush from Williams and a nine-yard grab by
Luke Johnson. After a 10-yard holding penalty, the visitors were facing third-and-20, but Teodecki scrambled to find Johnson for a 25-yard completion to keep the drive going. Bucknell held the Red and Blue to third-and-nine on the hosts' 39-yard line, yet Teodecki escaped the pocket and found
Tommy Lafayette for a 16-yard catch to pick up another first down. A trio of runs moved the chains once again before the drive stalled out. Bucknell left unscathed as Walters' 27-yard field-goal attempt was no good.
The Quakers' defense continued to dominate on the next two possessions, forcing fifth and sixth punts on as many drives for Bucknell. Penn allowed just one first down and 18 total offensive yards in the first half while tallying 121 on the ground and 128 in the air.
The visitors took over on their 18-yard line with 42 seconds to go in the half, but had to punt it away after a three-and-out. The Red and Blue led 14-7 heading into the intermission.
Penn started with the ball in the second half after winning the coin toss and deferring to kick before the first snap. A 42-yard kick return by
Jayden Drayton allowed the Quakers to start the drive on their own 46-yard line. Despite the favorable field position, Bucknell forced a punt and took over on its 20-yard line.
The Red and Blue made another defensive stand to hold the hosts to just one first down in 33 minutes of play.
Cole Olsztyn made a huge pass breakup on third-and-two, continuing to frustrate the Bison's offense.
Penalties stifled the Quakers' next drive, but a 47-yard punt from
Nate Kashey pinned the hosts deep in their own territory. Penn's defense gave up just one yard in three plays that made Juan Garanton kick away his eighth punt of the afternoon.
Head coach
Rick Santos' group started the drive on their own 47-yard line and moved the chains on second-and-five with a 25-yard strike to a striding Johnson. Another grab by Johnson along with rushes from West and Teodecki earned the Red and Blue their 14th first down of the day to move into scoring position. A loss on first down and a penalty two plays later moved Penn back to the 10-yard line. Toedecki responded on third down with his second passing touchdown of the day, finding
Dante Barone all alone in the endzone. The Quakers' lead stood at 20-7 with 3:20 to play after Walters' extra point was blocked by Brandon Biagiarelli.
Sophomore linebacker
Luke McIlhon picked off a Bison on the third play of their next drive, returning it to the opposition's 28 yard line. Penn could not capitilize, however, getting down to the Bucknell three yard line before opting to go for it on fourth down. Teodecki tried a quarterback sweep left and reached for the pylon, but lost the ball out of the endzone for a touchback.
Bucknell had one more scoring threat late in the fourth quarter before the drive stalled out at the Penn 23.
Raashed Hall pressured the Bison quarterback on fourth down, causing an inomplete pass and a turnover on downs.
Penn would run out the clock to seal its first victory of the season.
QUAKER NOTEMEAL
*Penn allowed just 124 total yards, its fewest since allowing 119 to Lehigh on Oct. 6, 2021.
*Freshman signal caller
Miles Teodecki lit it up in his collegiate debut, combining for 284Â yards of total offense (197 passing, 87Â rushing) and three touchdowns.
*Senior
Dante Barone tallied the first catch of his career, a 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
*Freshman receiver
Mason Page had a 37-yard touchdown catch for his inaugural reception as well.
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Luke McIlhon made a mark in his first game action as a Quaker, tallying a tackle and an interception.
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Luke Johnson got the first extended action of his career and paced the receiving core with six catches for 75 yards.
*The win was
Rick Santos' first of his time at Penn and 38th as a head coach (38-24).
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Donte West, last year's returning rusher, paced the offense with 17 carries for 44 yards.
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Zach Darche led the defense with seven total tackles while
Connor Martin posted a pair of tackles and the defense's lone sack of the night.
UP NEXT
Penn welcomes Lehigh to Franklin Field at 1 p.m. next Saturday for the first home game of its 150th season. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and through the airwaves on the Quaker Audio Network.
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